


raymeo and drewliet

by ava_quinncurtis, juliana_ravenclaw



Category: Scorpion (TV 2014)
Genre: Dray, Fluff, M/M, New Pairing, minor characters - Freeform, strange pairing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-24
Updated: 2017-01-10
Packaged: 2018-05-09 02:27:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5522045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ava_quinncurtis/pseuds/ava_quinncurtis, https://archiveofourown.org/users/juliana_ravenclaw/pseuds/juliana_ravenclaw
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After spending a year in Portland, Drew comes back to Los Angeles, in need of a roommate. He’s a little unsure of the person Paige has set him up with at first, but this guy is really welcoming and Drew’s also kind of desperate.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. you're searching for something, a place to call home

**Author's Note:**

> hey friends i know this ship sounds weird but bear with us and i promise it will be worth it when you see how stupid these nerds are together. ava and i were chatting about how much we missed ray and one way or another draybies were born. our google doc brainstorm currently consists of a ton of ray and drew puns, alternative paige names and fluffly chapter ideas so look forward to that in the future! hope you enjoy it! -juliana

“Wait so, what’s his name again?” Drew asks for the third time since he’s arrived.

“Ray Spiewack,” Paige repeats patiently, with a sweet, reassuring smile. “He might seem a little strange at first, but I promise, he’s a good guy. Plus, he needs a roommate,” she adds.

Drew is skeptical, but decides he should probably just meet the guy first. There is still one thing he’s worried about, though, so he turns to her to clarify. “And… he’s worked with Scorpion before?”

Paige opens her mouth slightly, seeming unsure about what to answer. “Well, not exactly… but he’s helped,” she assures him.

Drew doesn’t know what to think of that. The people Paige interacts with on a daily basis are people with very high IQs, and consequently very low EQs. He’s not sure he can handle living with someone like that. In his experience, he’s never done well with socially awkward people. But right now, he doesn’t have a lot of other options.

He’s still playing with his car keys in his fingers, considering whether or not to trust Paige’s judgement, when he notices that she is standing up, searching the room for her own set. Drew knows he has to make up his mind, because despite wanting to help him find a place to stay, Paige doesn’t really have a lot of time for him. She has to pick up Ralph at the garage soon, and while he wants to come with her to see their son, he also kind of needs to find a place to sleep.

“Come on, just come meet him,” Paige says finally, and Drew can’t really argue against that.

 

***

 

Ray lives in a five-story building. His apartment is on the fifth floor and there’s an elevator, but Drew only uses it because Paige is here; he’d rather take the stairs (something about keeping in shape, he says, which is important even if he’s no longer playing baseball).

“This is it. This is his apartment.” Paige declares as she drops Drew’s bags to the side. She briefly looks over her shoulder to smile at him, who’s face is still creased with worry, before she knocks.

They both jolt when they hear Ray’s muffled shouts through the door. “Just a minute!”

Paige pinches her lips and nods slightly, as if to say, yes, that’s Ray.

Drew looks away for only a second, observing the corridor’s flowery wallpaper. The next thing he knows, the door is flung wide open and they are greeted with a big smile from a man wearing nothing but a loud Hawaiian shirt, boxers and worn-out flip flops standing before them.

“Bonjour, amigos!”

Paige, determined to not let the atmosphere become awkward, immediately reaches forward to give Ray a welcome hug. “So good to see you, Ray!” she exclaims brightly.

He gladly hugs back tightly, “You too, Piper! Who’s your friend here?”

Paige had long ago stopped correcting Ray whenever he gets her name wrong, so she simply takes a sharp breath and gestures to Drew and replies, “This is the guy I told you about, who needs a place to stay.”

Drew didn’t think it was possible for Ray’s smile to get brighter, but it did. “Hey, buddy, come on in! I’ll show you around!” he says, patting Drew’s shoulder firmly, and Drew, not yet comfortable with this strange man he’s just met touching him, tightens his shoulders defensively. But he also doesn’t want to offend Ray just yet, so he refrains from brushing off the hand harshly and settles for moving away slowly with an awkward “Hi.”

Ray leads them in, and Drew follows, but stops when he realises Paige isn’t trailing behind anymore. Drew looks at her in a silent plea, because she always seems make these kinds of situations less tense, but Paige only replies with an apologetic expression, and calls out, “I have to go pick up Ralph now, so I’ll see you two later!”

“See ya, Paula!” Ray shouts back, effectively drowning out the strangled noise Drew makes. He then turns back to Drew eagerly. “So, do you wanna see your room?”

It couldn’t have been worse. Drew raises an eyebrow, wondering whether this guy is for real or not. Now he knows why he’s never looked for a roommate before. “You picked a room for me?” He asks but doesn’t really wants to know the answer. Probably because he already knows it. Ray stops in his tracks, turns around to face his new roomie, and frowns a little.

“Well it’s not a palace. There are two rooms; one’s mine, the other is yours, pal.”

Ray clasps his hands together with another bright smile, and he seems so excited about this whole thing, and he’s so kind and welcoming that Drew can only soften a little. He decides to follow Ray, and finds a decent bedroom with a decent cupboard and decent walls. The bed is even made.

It’s way better than what Drew had expected, though he isn’t really sure what he had had in mind. When he turns around, he realises Ray has left the room, and from where he stands, he notices the guy is getting his bags, so he runs out to help him.

“I got this, buddy.” Ray manages to say, his voice a little strained, because that’s a lie; these bags are so heavy and packed to the brim full of stuff that even Drew couldn’t lift them all at once alone. Ray’s persistence is admirable, though, and he manages to haul them into the room at last, and while it was a struggle, Drew is still slightly impressed. He helps Ray put them down carefully, like this is of great help, and Ray stands up straight once again, a huge grin on his face. Drew smiles back. First he’s being polite, but then he means it, and then it all becomes awkward again in less than a second.

“Oh, I forgot to ask,” Ray breaks the weighty silence and Drew’s infinitely thankful for that. “What’s your name?”

Drew considers the guy. He’s standing right in front of him and he had totally forgotten about Ray’s ridiculous outfit, with the bright colours and bare legs. He takes a deep breath and his eyes meet with Ray’s again.

“I’m Drew.” he says, extending his hand out for the man, who shakes it firmly after a few seconds staring at it.

“Ray.”

They both smile, one more brightly than the other, but they both mean it, and Drew nods in acknowledgement.

“I know,” Drew says, and now he’s thinking that maybe moving in with this guy won’t be such a disaster after all.


	2. my baby's in town and we're gonna do some winter things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Nice shirt, huh?” he exclaims happily. “I made it on this cool website last year, but it didn’t arrive in the mail until after Christmas, so I’ve been waiting the whole year to wear it!” His smile brightens yet again as he offers to get Drew a t-shirt just like it, if only he lets him come up with “a Drew Christmas pun”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, our little draybies (dray babies, welcome to the meme) are back for a (late) Christmas chapter. Be prepared for some serious Christmas fluff and fun. -Ava xx

“Morning, pal. Made you some coffee.”

 

Drew mumbles out a “thank you”, squinting at the bright light shining through their kitchen window. The dynamic between them is still a little weird. Ray is certainly welcoming and nice, but he’s also a little forward, and Drew’s not exactly ready to start acting like they’re best friends just yet. He still flinches and shrinks away whenever Ray reaches an arm out to pat him on the back or grab his arm.

 

But he’s warming up to the guy, and has started to get used to his quirky conversation topics and spontaneous ideas, though he can’t say he was too happy the night his roomie rearranged the furniture and the couch ended up in front of his bedroom door, with Ray claiming he had fixed the ‘feng shui’ of the room.    
  
“Is it really necessary for your ‘feng shui’ to involve me being locked in my room?” Drew had tried to protest, shouting through the door that he needed to use the bathroom. 

 

The caffeine starts to do its work and Drew begins to perk up and reply to the nonsense Ray is rattling on about. “Sugar starting to do it’s work?” Ray asks, grinning. 

 

Drew has no idea what he’s talking about. “What?”

 

“The sugar in your coffee. It wakes you up, you know?” Ray replies intently. 

 

“I don’t think - actually, you know what? Nevermind,” Drew waves a hand, taking another sip. “Anyway, I wanted to tell you that I was gonna have Ralph over tonight.” He pauses, waiting for Ray to look up so he can keep going. “I was thinking maybe we could decorate the Christmas tree, spend some time together. Just wanted to check if that was alright with you.”

 

“That’s a great idea, buddy,” Ray assures. “Totally fine with me.”

 

“Great, thanks,” Drew says, picking up his phone to text Paige. “I’ll bring him over tonight after work.”

 

“Sounds good. See you guys then.”

 

Drew then quickly heads off to work, reconsidering the conversation. He wonders whether Ray realises he had been referring to just him and Ralph when he had said  _ ‘we’ _ .  

 

***

 

“Ray?” Drew shouts over the deafeningly loud tune of Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas is You coming from the kitchen. Drew hears what he thinks is Ray’s voice singing  (more like shouting, really, Drew thinks) along to the song . 

 

“Oh, hey champion,” Ray calls out to Ralph, striding into the lounge to greet them. He’s wearing a fluro green Santa hat (which is arguably the least questionable of his current fashion choices), the same worn-out flip flops he always wears, and a frilly pink apron with the phrase ‘Kiss the cook’ written in curly letters on it. Underneath the apron, Drew can see what he thought was a plain white t-shirt, until Ray turns around and  he reads the words ‘I’m a rayndeer’ printed on the back, the letters R-A-Y in bold.

 

Ray catches him staring at it. “Nice shirt, huh?” he exclaims happily. “I made it on this cool website last year, but it didn’t arrive in the mail until after Christmas, so I’ve been waiting the whole year to wear it!” His smile brightens yet again as he offers to get Drew a t-shirt just like it, if only he lets him come up with “a Drew Christmas pun”.

 

Drew doesn’t have the heart to tell him how ridiculous it looks after that. 

 

“Oh, is that gingerbread?” Ralph pipes up, catching the scent of mixed spices coming from the kitchen. 

 

“You bet, my friend,” Ray beams proudly. “They’ve just finished cooking. Come have a look with me,” he invites, and Ralph obliges delightedly, following him to the kitchen.  

 

Drew elects to stay in the lounge. He looks around the room, and notices the Christmas tree box he had bought has already been pulled out of his room. Although, upon closer inspection, the tree appears to have been taken out of the box as well, then haphazardly shoved back in, as if the person who opened it had found it in pieces after expecting it to be already put together, and then hadn’t known what to do with all the bits and pieces. Drew laughs lightly at the thought of Ray in that scenario. 

 

Sitting next to the tree is a box of decorations. Drew had gone out to buy new ones, but the generic, store-bought baubles didn’t even compare to the little carved wooden ornaments he finds tucked away under the tinsel in the box, each of which seem to want to tell their own story. Drew wonders where Ray got them, and looks up to ask him about it, when Drew sees him helping his son put icing on the gingerbread, seeming to have forgotten that you have to let the cookies cool before decorating them. 

 

He smiles fondly at the two, thinking to himself that even if he had initially intended to use this occasion to have some one-on-one time with Ralph, it probably  _ would _ be more fun if Ray were to join in. Besides, Ralph seemed to like Ray, at least, and that was the main thing, wasn’t it? 

 

***

 

The Christmas tree had been quite easy to put up, with Ralph instructing the two men on what to do while he happily munched on the gingerbread. Now, it was time for the fairy lights.

 

“I think we’d better untangle them first, don’t you think, Ralph?” Drew suggests, and so he begins working on that, with the kid’s approval. “Ray, help me out here. Grab that end and pull it through.”   
  


“Got it.”

 

“Now help me undo the knot over here.”

 

“Oh man, we’ve messed up this bit over here.”

 

“Dude, now you’ve got your foot all tangled in it.”

 

“Oh man, my flip flop’s coming off.”

 

“Don’t worry about that, move your hand so I can fix the wire over here.”

 

“I can’t.”

 

“What do you mean you can’t?” Drew is about to lose his temper when he looks up to see Ray stuck in the lights.   
  
“I mean I can’t seem to - ” Ray tries again to pull his hand apart, to no avail. Somehow, he has managed to knot the colorful fairy lights in a way that held both his hands together in front of him like hand cuffs. 

 

Drew stares at him in silence for a long moment and takes deep breaths like he’s trying to figure this out. “How did you even do that?”

 

“Must’ve been that video I watched the other day on tying knots. Sorry, pal, there wasn’t a video on how to untie them.” Ray says, struggling to free his hands. 

 

Drew doesn’t bother asking. “Just -” he grunts “Okay, get your foot out of that loop over there,” he instructs, and Ray complies. “Now, just stay still and let me try to work out what you’ve done here.”

 

“Sure thing.”

 

Ray seems pretty amused by the situation. Drew notices when he looks up at him and their eyes meet. He looks away, trying not to let his lips take the shape of a small grin. He should be annoyed, but surprisingly, he’s not. There’s a silence as Drew tries to sort out the obnoxiously long string of lights by hanging the untangled parts over his shoulder, but he just ends up making it worse. “This isn’t working.”

 

“You got that right. Look, now you’ve messed it up there. Turn around for a second.” With his hands still unable to move away from each other, Ray attempts to get Drew out of loop of wire, and tugs on it, hoping that will work.    
  


“Ow!” Drew exclaims, and he’s forced to turn back around before he trips. “Ray, let go!”

 

“No can do, amigo. Once again, I just can’t seem to move my hand.”

 

The two are standing in close proximity now, and Drew notes how much shorter than him Ray is. The guy is now awkwardly facing Drew’s torso, still pulling on the wires and trying to free himself. After a few moments struggling, Drew can feel Ray sigh in frustration, letting his forehead hit his friend’s shoulder. Drew stills, a bit surprised by the contact. 

 

It is then that they remember Ralph is in the room with them, and has been trying not to giggle too loudly, though he laughs heartily now. “Do you guys need help?” he asks eagerly. 

 

“Yeah, we kinda do,” Drew mumbles and Ray pinches his lips awkwardly. 

 

***   
  


They end up using a mix of Ray’s wooden ornaments, as well as Drew’s baubles to decorate the tree. By 8p.m the tree is finally up and finished, mostly thanks to Ralph, who has been of great help to the two men.    
  
“Great job, amigos!” Ray exclaims, patting both Ralph and Drew’s backs, and this time Drew finds that he doesn’t mind it as much, and doesn’t flinch.    
  
He stares proudly at the tree, and for the first time since he’s come back to LA, he’s glad to be here, to be living here and being able to see his son again and more often.    
  
It’s a little late when Ray and Drew finish tidying the room. Ralph is on the couch playing video games when Drew decides to call Paige and asks if Ralph can stay over, to everyone’s excitement, because Ray offers to make dinner for the three of them, and more importantly, he offers to make more gingerbread.   
  
Both men watch Ralph cheering up at the prospect, smiling at the boy and Ray heads to the kitchen, closely followed by Drew, who leans against the bench behind him while he gathers everything needed in his recipe.    
  
Drew watches Ray cooking and doesn’t say a word. He finds himself a little impressed, because his own cooking skills begin and end at opening a can and letting a microwave do the job.    
  
Ray notices Drew is staring when he turns around and Drew doesn’t have time to look away. Ray smiles a little, scratching his temple.    
  
“Wanna help?”    
  
Drew lets out a brief laugh and explains he better not, lest he ruin the whole thing, but Ray insists, so he moves closer, and leans over his shoulder to see what he’s doing.   
  
After observing for a little while and listening to Ray’s instructions, Drew puts a hand on his friend’s shoulder, and gently prompts him to step to his right.    
  
“Okay, let me try.”

  
Ray grins proudly at Drew’s newfound willingness to help.


	3. know that i'm here, know that i'm real

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You’re my roomie, Drew.” Ray chuckles to himself. “My drewmie, even. You can tell me,” he implores, sitting back on the couch. 
> 
> Drew gives Ray a long look, and Ray stares right back, until Drew finally gives in and speaks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're back, baby!!! we have pulled this fic out of hiatus because dray was way too good to let go of. anyway, enjoy! - juliana

“Ray, catch!”   
  
Ray looks up, panicked, in response to Drew shouting across the room and quickly spots his friend with a bottle of soda, weighing it in one hand. Drew throws the bottle and Ray catches it but Drew doesn’t warn him fast enough and -    
  
“Don’t open it - !” Too late. He sighs and grimaces at the fizzy drink flowing down Ray’s hand and the bottle onto their linoleum floor, which Drew had just washed earlier that day. Ray apologises profusely, explains he thought it was orange juice and Drew looks again at what’s left of coke in the bottle and refrains from arguing that it should have been obvious what kind of drink it was.   
  


“A little help here, buddy?”  
  
Drew pinches his lips, bites his lower one, but then he chills and laughs a little, because it’s not that big of a deal and acquiesces.   
  
He’s definitely getting used to Ray and his shenanigans. The Ray-way of life (as Ray likes to call it, though it’s rubbed off on Drew a little) basically consists in lots of good fun, and no rules. And puns, too. Lots of puns which Drew pretends he finds ridiculous, but sometimes (though he’d never admit it) when he’s alone with his thoughts, he tries to come up with some of his own ‘Drew’ puns, but they’re never as good as Ray’s.  
  
Drew returns with some wet rags and is now washing everything off. He puts one on the floor to mop up the soda while he soaks up what’s dripping off the bottle. When he’s done, he gets Ray some tissues that he uses to wipe over the damp floor, and a glass which he doesn’t use, because he drinks directly from the bottle.   
  
After they finish cleaning up the whole mess, Drew settles next to Ray and turns on TV, but everything is shit at that time in the afternoon. He’s flipping through the channels while Ray sips his drink and Drew gets a strong impression of getting deja vu about deja vu, because they’ve been doing this every Saturday when he isn't working until it’s late in the afternoon and they both get bored and go to their respective rooms.

 

Today, however, Drew breaks their usual routine. As always, he turns off the TV when they feel like they’ve had enough of it. But then when Ray starts to get up, he looks over his shoulder only to see his friend, still sitting on their crappy couch, his eyes clouded over. . For all his quirks, Ray can tell easily when someone is upset. 

 

“What’s wrong, buddy?” He asks, and when he receives no reply other than a shrug, he continues, “Rat got your tongue?” This almost earns him a laugh, though Ray’s not entirely sure why.

 

“It’s nothing, Ray. Don’t worry.” Drew attempts to get up and go to his room so he can feel sorry for himself  _ by himself _ , but Ray shoves him back onto the couch. He protests when he hits the back of the sofa again and shoots Ray a confused look.

 

“Of course it’s something. I’m not an idiot, Danny.”  
  
“Drew.” He corrects, but thinks, _Agree to disagree_ , about the ‘ _I’m not an idiot’_ part.  
  
“Whatever. You’re my roomie, Drew.” Ray chuckles to himself. “My _drewmie_ , even. You can tell me,” he implores, sitting back on the couch. 

 

Drew gives Ray a long look, and Ray stares right back, until Drew finally gives in and speaks.   
  
"I'm just upset because I haven't heard back about this coaching job yet. And I’m  annoyed that this thing in Portland didn’t work out,” he sighs and cocks his head, biting his upper lip. Ray’s still staring. “I’m starting to wonder whether baseball’s still really my thing or not.”   
  
Drew takes a deep breath and flops back onto the couch. He glances up at Ray and raises an eyebrow suspiciously when he sees him staring his way with a knowing smirk. “What?” 

 

“Neptune’s return,” Ray says simply. 

 

“Huh?” 

 

“Neptune’s return. Neptune takes about 29 years to orbit the sun, and when it gets back to where it was when you were born, you have tons of self discovery and all that.” 

 

Drew looks at Ray skeptically and slowly sits up straight. “Okay, first of all, I don’t think Neptune takes 29 years to orbit the sun - ”

 

Ray chuckles, nodding his head several times earnestly, “Yes it does.”

  
“And secondly; I think that’s just a much fancier way of saying  _ mid-life crisis. _ ”

 

“It’s the  _ Ray  _ Way, Drew.”

 

Drew gives him a tight but fond smile. Ray taps Drew’s leg before jumping to his feet. “See, I’m helping already!” He stops, glances over his shoulder at the door like he’s expecting something. “Look, why don’t we go out and do what you do best: play baseball!”

  
Drew frowns at the idea, his smile long gone. “Look, Ray, I appreciate what you’re doing, but I don’t think I’m in the mood right now.”

 

“Nonsense! You’re never not in the mood for baseball.” 

 

“Well,” Drew nods a few times. “Given it’s a huge part of my life that I’m now suddenly questioning, really, I don’t think I am.” He’s starting to get impatient with Ray. He knows the guy means well, but he would really just like to go sulk in his room. But Ray’s having none of it. 

 

“Come on, amigo.” Ray claps his hands in a laughable attempt to motivate Drew.    
  
“Grab your gloves and balls and whatever else you need for baseball and we can go to the park together and play a bit.” Ray offers Drew a smug grin. “I’m really good, I promise.”    
  
Drew is about to decline once again the offer when Ray turns to him and looks at him with the most ridiculous puppy dog eyes, and Drew can’t help but laugh so hard he feels a little bit better and decides that maybe he could use the practice. 

  
  


***

 

And what a practice it turns out to be.   
  
Ray seems to be a little rusty when it comes to baseball, and they have to move several times because more people showed up and Ray with a baseball bat was a danger to himself and everyone around him.   
  
It had slipped out of his hands several times and he had flinched, afraid it would fly and knock somebody out. Then a dog came along, catching the ball in its mouth and running away with it. Ray had to chase the dog and follow it to its owner to get it back.  
  
Finally, he comes back, victorious. Drew scratches the back of his head as his friend waves the ball at him. “Can you believe that guy?” Ray complains, gesturing towards the dog’s owner . “He thought that was his dog’s ball,” he holds up the now wet ball. “He wouldn’t give it back to me!”   
  
Drew raises an eyebrow at him but laughs a little. He briefly places his hand on Ray’s lower back, to prompt him to move along and find somewhere else for them to keep playing.   
  
Except it’s Saturday afternoon and all families had decided to take their kids to the park, and it’s packed. So after they have searched the gardens once with no success, they decide to just keep walking because it’s too early to go home. And besides, the weather is just perfect. And they both decide they need it.   
  


They stroll around the park for a long while, in a comfortable silence. They’re both getting a bit tired now, but neither of them want to go home, where they have to deal with chores, and work and  _ responsibilities _ . So they silently agree to stay a while longer, and find a conveniently placed bench where they can sit down and relax and watch the birds fly above their heads.    
  
“So,” Drew is the first one to break the silence, and Ray startles a little, glancing up at Drew, who’s still looking down at his hands. “You’ve never played baseball, have you?”   
  
“Nope.” Ray replies instantly and they both chuckle. Drew nods several times before looking up to meet with Ray’s eyes.    
  
“Thank you,” he says, and he means it.  _ Thank you for being an idiot and making me laugh and not letting me, not even for a second, to feel like crap or to feel sorry for myself _ , he wants to say. A small smile crosses Ray’s lips in response, but it quickly fades as he takes a breath, breaking eye contact before Drew can realise he’s staring.   
  
“So,” he sighs, “tell me Drew. What kind of man am I living with?” He makes it sound like a joke and Drew smiles, but then he looks down at his hands again, frowning.    
  
“Well,” he says, hesitating. “I’m Drew Baker.” He says, grinning, extending his hand for Ray to shake, which he does, laughing.    
  
“Well, nice to meet you Drew Baker.” Ray nods several times and Drew’s laughing too, until finally he lets go of Ray’s hand and stares down at his sneakers, choosing to ignore the fact that he can feel his face going warm a little.    
Drew’s still smiling a little when he bends over and rests his elbows on his lap, joining his hands. He shakes his head. “Nah,” he says at first, “Tell me about you. Who are you, Ray Spiewack?” He teases, elbows Ray who’s now grinning, raising his eyebrows.    
  
“Hey, if I’m going to tell you  _ my storay _ you’re gonna have to tell me yours.” Ray warns and Drew nods once, then looks away again.    
  
“Well, it’s nothing fancy, don’t worry.” He takes a sharp breath before he continues. “Bullied in middle school, then I decided I couldn’t take that shit anymore.” He sighs and pauses and Ray is wondering whether or not this question was a good idea after all. “Somehow I made my way through to high school where I started playing baseball and met Paige.”   
  
_ Yup, not a good idea _ , Ray thinks, but he’s also curious and can’t help asking, “And then?” Drew laughs a strange laugh, becomes tense all of a sudden.   
  
“Well, what do you think? At first I stayed, but things didn’t work out between me and Paige.” He stops, leans against the back of the bench. “And I was just a stupid kid who wanted to play baseball. So we had a fight one night and in the morning, I left.”    
  
At those words, he turns to look at Ray who’s been staring, frowning a little, but listening intently. “Now the baseball hasn’t worked out either, but, I mean, at least I got my son here, and  _ that _ ,” Drew adds and he shakes his head. “Damn, it’s perfect.”    
  
He’s not smiling, but everything about him is enough for Ray to deduce that even if baseball means a lot to him, Ralph means even more. And he’s smiling at the thought. He’s smiling at Drew, but when he notices that his friend is a bit confused, he stops, taking a short breath.    
  
Ray’s gaze is now on the birds fighting over a few chunks of bread not far from where they are sitting. He decides that it’s probably his turn to share some of his past.    
  
“I had a friend like you before,” he says. “His name was Danny Tuggle. Passionate guy. Loved what he did.” A twisted smile crosses Ray’s lips and Drew frowns a little, trying to focus on his friend’s voice, because he can swear he heard it shake a little.    
  
“We were firefighters. Ten years ago, a gas line blew.” Drew freezes. He knows where this story is going. “We were there, and the thing is, I woke up in a hospital and he didn’t because I couldn’t get his regulator to his mouth.”    
  
“Ray -”   
  
“Walter and science proved it wasn’t my fault Danny died.” Drew is no longer frowning, feeling incredibly relieved hearing that, even though he didn’t really doubt it. “But since the day I left the team’s garage, I’ve told myself there is no time to waste anymore.” Ray turns to face Drew, who’s startled by the look in Ray’s eyes. “I took Tuggle’s bravery medal back to his wife and kid and started over with them.” Ray nods to himself.    
  
“I’m just saying that there will be millions of opportunities that will present themselves. Focus on what’s important to you, and live your life the way you want to, Drew.” He shrugs slowly. “Because it goes on.”   
  
Both of them are smiling now. Ray is staring at Drew who’s staring right back until he’s not anymore and his eyes find the pigeons still squabbling over bread. He’s still grinning to himself until he nods, slowly.    
  
“I’ll teach you how to play.” Drew offers, and when he looks at Ray, the guy is grinning, his eyes no longer bright with tears but with excitement. “Guess I could use some practice with the coaching.”      


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for those of you wondering, //saturn's return// is actually a thing, and yes, it was a parks and recreation reference, because i am a giant nerd crossed with a dork or something (lol idk if ava realised that, i wrote that part and forgot to tell her oops). anyway, look forward to these nerds (hopefully) soon! - juliana


	4. oh baby you got me tied down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Drew sighs, shakes his head. “I just realized I don’t know how to tie a tie.”
> 
> “Well… Want me to have a try?” Ray offers, but Drew laughs a little so he stops moving closer and freezes.
> 
> “All you always manage to do is tie a knot,” Drew says, “Hell, you do that perfectly.”
> 
> “A tie knot is a knot.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 4 'oh baby you got me tied down' OR 'our shameless attempts to make drew as shirtless as possible'  
> Thanks for the chapter title Megan!  
> Enjoy!   
> Ava xx

It’s late in the afternoon when Ray finally checks his watch and decides it is time for his roommate to wake up from his nap. Drew had actually told him to wake him up half an hour ago already. Sighing frustratedly, he knocks on his door. 

 

“Drew?” he calls out when there’s no response. Still hearing nothing from his friend, he opens the door and walks in. “Drew, you need to get up.”

 

Drew’s a heavy sleeper, apparently, and doesn’t so much as stir even when Ray sits on his bed. Ray nudges him gently. Nothing. 

 

The small amounts of light that make their way through the half closed blinds brighten the dim room just enough for Ray to make out his friend peacefully asleep, sprawled across the bed comfortably on his back in nothing but sweatpants, his left arm thrown lazily behind his head.  
  
It feels like it’s already been five minutes that he’s been watching Drew sleep and not waking up, and it’s weirdly entertaining. Ray’s gaze falls on his chest, the slow rising and falling of it as Drew takes even breaths. Ray notes Drew’s toned muscles, probably a result of all the years of baseball and working out. Drew’s mouth is half open, with rays of sunlight falling precisely on his pink lips. Then he takes a short breath, his mouth closing and Ray startles a little, his eyes darting back to Drew’s face quickly.   
  
Then Drew really starts to move, and Ray jumps up as he rolls onto his side. Ray sighs in frustration and rolls his eyes, then kneels next to the bed. He stares at Drew for a little moment, before he props his chin on the mattress with a pouty expression, his face now just inches away from Drew’s.   
  
Ray’s so tired of waiting for his friend to wake up, and Drew’s so adorably funny-looking when he sleeps that he just can’t help but reach out to poke his face. It doesn’t do much, but Drew’s face is squishy, and looks even more hilarious when Ray pokes it that he tries again. And again. And again. And - 

 

“Ray.”   
  
Ray freezes. But Drew doesn’t budge.   
  
“ _ What _ are you doing?”    
  
Finally, Drew opens his eyes only to see his roommate still staring at him, eyes wide, a guilty expression on his face. “Your face is soft.” 

 

“I know, I shaved for the wedding. But that’s not the answer to my question. Why are you in my room, poking my cheeks?”

 

“Like you said, amigo, the wedding.” 

  
Drew grunts and rolls onto his back, and Ray glances up at him as he runs a hand through his now messy hair. He sighs and Ray hops up to get back on his feet, his legs sore from kneeling for so long, scratching his chin. He tries to look away, but his eyes only reach the door before they are drawn back to Drew once more.   
  
“Coffee?” 

 

***

 

When Drew finally reaches the kitchen (though still groggy and shirtless), the coffee’s ready and Ray's leaning against the counter, warming his hands with a hot mug. Ray’s eyes follow Drew as he makes his way to the coffee pot and grabs a mug. 

 

“Yours is on the counter,” Ray says, pointing at Drew’s mug next to him.

 

Drew glances over his shoulder, spotting his drink, and mumbles a 'thank you’.  

 

“No worries,” Ray replies, smiling a little as he notes that Drew’s hair is still sticking up at odd angles. 

 

Silence settles for a little while after that. It gives Drew time to finish his coffee and try to truly wake up. Hearing the clock ticking helps him return to the world of the living.

 

“What time is it?” Drew breaks the silence, remembering he does have to get ready for the wedding, and he certainly can't go like this.

 

Ray (who was intensively studying the remaining foam of his drink) looks up at him and grabs his phone out of the pocket of his shorts. 

 

“4.30.”

 

“Oh.” Drew nods in acknowledgement, before he looks down at his mug again. He still has a couple hours before it’s time to go. 

 

The silence in their kitchen is getting heavier by the second and it takes a few minutes for them to break it again. They’re both still standing at opposite corners of the room, each staring at the coffee that’s in their mugs until they're not. Ray’s eyes find Drew’s silhouette when he looks up, and thank God Drew’s not seeing any of it. Because if he was, Ray would be forced to look away. As always. 

 

But after a little while he does notice. Drew takes a sip of his beverage now that it has cooled down a bit, and, feeling like he’s being watched, he glances up and looks back at Ray. 

 

Ray is startled, and averts his eyes, quickly turning red. Drew’s eyes dart from his mug to his roommate and he squirms a little too, looking away as he puts his mug down and crosses his arms on his chest, not knowing what to do with those after that. His mouth opens and closes for a moment, before he he drops his arms.

 

“I-It’s, um,” he stammers, clears his throat. “It’s cold in here. Aren’t you cold?” 

 

“No, actually, I’m burning up.” Ray says and Drew looks up at him but his eyes are immediately  drawn to the floor.

 

“I’m... gonna get a shirt.” Drew nods a few times as he turns to go back to his room.

 

“Oh, no, no it’s okay pal, I'll put the heater on.”

 

Drew stops and turns around to face Ray.  

 

“Don’t worry about it,” He waves his hand dismissively, and smiles a little. “I’ll get a shirt.” 

 

Once Drew has left the kitchen, Ray pulls out a stool to sit at the counter and he sighs as he thinks about how stupid he is. 

  
  


***

 

Drew takes his frustration out on his drawer with a kick and lets himself fall back into his chair. Two knocks on his door but he doesn’t budge. It takes a few more seconds for Ray to push open the door, but just enough for his head to show. Only then does Drew glances up, looking desperate. Ray, deducing by that look that he’s allowed to come in, carefully makes his way to Drew, not breaking eye contact.    
  
“You okay?” He asks, his voice actually so soft Drew is a bit surprised. When Ray looks closer, the collar of Drew’s shirt is messed up and a tie is lying on the floor at the guy’s feet. Ray picks it up.    
  
“Want any help?”   
  
Drew sighs, shakes his head. “I just realized I don’t know how to tie a tie.”   
  
“Well… Want me to have a try?” Ray offers, but Drew laughs a little so he stops moving closer and freezes.   
  
“All you always manage to do is tie a knot,” Drew says, “ _ Hell _ , you do that perfectly.”   
  
“A tie knot is a knot.” Ray grins and waits a short moment to see Drew’s approval in his eyes. Which he gets, so he comes closer again, his hands reaching for his friend’s neck.   
  
He first places the tie around Drew’s collar and starts tying the tie. He’s working so swiftly and so gently at the same time it’s actually surprising. His fingers move with the tie and it suddenly looks so easy to do a tie that Drew can’t help but feel a bit stupid he couldn’t do it.    
  
Actually, he should be uncomfortable and frustrated and losing his crap because that’s just how Drew is; he can’t stand being forced to sit in a corner to watch and learn. But it’s fine. Because his friend is helping him tying his tie. That’s what friends do. Help each other.    
  
Ray is standing in such close proximity; he’s closer than Drew has ever allowed him to be, and Drew decides (or not quite) that he doesn’t mind Ray’s presence. He’s looking down at  _ him _ , and no longer at his hands. Drew’s eyes dart away as Ray looks up at him too. He knows very well Ray is still staring and again for some reason he feels incredibly stupid and lets his head fall backwards so he can stare at the ceiling instead.

 

That is, until Ray starts tugging on the tie a little too hard. “Ow, Ray, it doesn’t need to be that tight.”

 

“Sorry, pal, but I’m not that tall, and you are.”

 

Drew sighs and begrudgingly leans forward to make it easier for Ray to tie the knot. 

 

“Wait a minute,” Ray mutters to himself. 

 

Drew frowns a little, worried because Ray is pulling on the tie again, making a face. He tries to look down. “What? What are you doing, I can’t see.” 

 

Ray struggles for only a moment more before suddenly letting go of everything pinching his lips like he's done something wrong. He then covers his mouth with his hand and that doesn't help reassure Drew. 

 

“What have you done?” Drew’s hands reach for the tie and he immediately knows something's wrong and practically runs to the bathroom’s mirror.

 

A knot, and a big one. Not even a tie knot. A moment later, Ray joins him in the bathroom, not sure whether he should try to help fix that or run away before Drew murders him. 

 

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Drew whispers at first. “Ray! What the hell? You said you could tie a tie!”

 

“It’s okay, I can try to fix it.” Ray offers, his hands reaching for the huge knot and Drew takes a step back and nearly falls into the bathtub.

 

“No, you don’t get to try anything.”

 

“Well, not to brag or anything, but I  _ am _ pretty good at tying knots.” Ray chuckles but stops short when he sees Drew glaring at him. “What I’m saying is, you’re not going to be able to get that off yourself.”

 

“Watch me,” Drew says, analysing the knot in the mirror. “Give me the scissors.”

 

Ray obediently turns on his heel to find a pair of scissors, determined not to anger Drew again. 

 

“Here, I'll do it.” Drew quickly protests and slaps Ray’s hands away.

 

“What,” Ray laughs a little before he looks into Drew’s eyes.  “Don’t be ridiculous, you’ll just end up hurting yourself.”

 

They're only inches away from each other and Drew eyes Ray for a moment before he grabs his friend’s wrist and takes the scissors from his hand. 

 

“I’ll do it.” Drew says with a somewhat challenging tone and a strange smile crossing his lips.

 

“I really don’t think that’s a good idea.”

 

Drew pointedly ignores him starts tugging on part of the tie around his neck so that he has room to cut it there. He struggles for a while, having to maneuver the scissors carefully so that he finally manages to hack through the fabric without cutting off his fingers. 

 

“Ha,” Drew says proudly as he turns to face Ray, the remains of the tie now on the bathroom floor. 

 

Ray opens his mouth, slightly amused. “Well, that’s great and all, that you undid all of my hard work, but now you need a new shirt.”

 

Drew looks into the mirror, trying to understand. 

“Oh no,” he says when he realises his mistake. In his eagerness to prove Ray wrong and get the tie off, he had also torn through the collar of his shirt, leaving parts of the slashed fabric hanging by mere threads. 

 

“Shit...” Drew swears under his breath as he leans over the sink, frustrated. “I got it especially for this stupid wedding.” 

 

Feeling a bit guilty for all of this, Ray deduces in the awkward silence that has settled in their bathroom that Drew has no other fancy enough shirts to wear to the wedding.

 

“I have a shirt if you want…” He offers to break the silence and Drew flinches when he hears his voice. 

 

“You do?” He asks, both amused and intrigued at the thought of Ray in a classy white shirt. 

 

Ray smiles and acquiesces. Drew’s in distress, and is practically begging him with his eyes so Ray nods a few times. 

 

“I’ll go get it.”

 

By the time Ray comes back to the bathroom, what’s left of Drew’s newly ruined shirt has been left forgotten on the floor and Drew is still standing by the sink, waiting to try on the one Ray is bringing him.

 

Ray rubs the back of his neck as he hands Drew his shirt, staring pointedly at the floor. He only allows himself to glance up when Drew speaks.

 

“Jesus, Ray, how tiny are you?” He asks, laughing a little. He doesn't seem as angry as he was a few minutes ago so it’s a relief as Ray shrugs, grinning, making sure he glances at his friend only briefly before looking away. Drew, determined not to show that he noticed, shrugs on the shirt quickly and begins doing up the buttons. 

 

Ray is considerably smaller than Drew, so it’s no surprise when the fabric is stretched a little too tightly across his chest, but Drew figures he’s not going to find anything better to wear in what little time he has before he has to leave. 

 

“Thanks,” he says finally, and Ray nods in acknowledgement, smiling brightly at Drew. 

  
  


***

 

“Well, I’d better get going, then.”

 

Ray looks up to see Drew finally emerging from his bedroom. Somehow, he’s made the too-tight shirt work ( _ Of course he would _ , Ray thinks), and he’s put some kind of gel in his hair so that not a single strand is out of place. His dress pants fit nicely and his shoes go well with the outfit. Suddenly, Ray is standing, though he can’t remember ever getting up. However, he feels it would be even more embarrassing if he just sat back into the couch, so he tries to glance at the television before his eyes are drawn back to Drew.

 

“ I kind of wish I still had my tie, though,” Drew says, glaring accusingly at Ray.

 

“You look better without that tie anyway,” Ray dismisses easily, with a bit of amusement in his voice as he slips his hands into the pockets of his jeans. Then he realises what he’s said, and quickly tries to cover it up, jokingly. “Besides, that was mostly your fault.”

 

“No it wasn’t! If you hadn’t tried to do my tie - ”   
  


“If you had just let  _ me _ cut it off for you - ”

 

“I still would have ended up without a tie!”

 

Ray rolls his eyes. “Whatever,  _ Cindrewella. _ Don’t stay out past midnight.”

 

“Shut up,” Drew scoffs, but then an interesting thought occurs to him. “Hey, aren’t you one of the little mice in this scenario, then? Helping me get ready for the ball so I can go meet my prince?” he taunts. 

 

Ray turns red. “That’s - that’s not - ”

 

Drew laughs heartily at his friend. “My pumpkin carriage awaits. See you later, Ray. Don’t have too much fun without me.”

 

Ray opens his mouth, but barely has a chance to stutter before Drew’s closed the door behind him. He takes a deep breath, shaking his head. 

  
“I won’t.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> raymeo and drewliet bts aka our google docs being a battlefield :
> 
> -Ava : We were *this* close to having a serious chapter, Juliana. *THIS* close.  
> -Juliana : What are you talking about - also how do you spell barely?  
> -Ava : I am talking about all those Cinderella references, Drew is a complete nerd omfg - And I spell it 'barely" but I'm French so I don't have a word in that.  
> -Juliana : Excuse you were the one who wrote in Ray poking Drew's face to wake him up  
> -Ava : *this* is proper war declaration you little piece of shit  
> -Juliana : Fight me


	5. a beautiful sight, we're happy tonight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What?”
> 
> “Merry Christmas.”
> 
> Ray frowns. “Merry Christmas to you too but why are you staring at me like an idiot?”
> 
> Drew’s smile fades and his shoulders drop. “Are you kidding?” He gestures to himself. “Your present.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKay! First of all, merry christmas and happy new year to everyone.   
> So, we know it's been months since you've heard of Drew and Ray's adventures and we are so sorry for that.   
> BUT : if there are still some Dray fans out there; here you go, CHRISTMAS DRAY CHAPTER. 
> 
> This is a reference to the chapter we made a year ago, bc, yes, it's been a year. We hope you like it, and things shouldbe moving forward these next chapters. 
> 
> -Lots of love, Ava xx

“Ray? Can you pass me the remote?”

 

Drew glances over Ray’s head at the remote laying on the armrest next to his friend. 

 

When Ray doesn’t respond, he tries again. “Ray?”

 

It’s then that Drew realises Ray had actually fallen asleep next to him, head laying on his shoulder. 

 

He contemplates reaching over him and grabbing the remote himself, but that would involve Drew moving the arm Ray is leaning on and waking him. And even though Drew knows Ray had plans for today that Drew was supposed to wake him up for, he figures just a couple more minutes won’t do much harm, and besides, Ray looks too peaceful and calm right now, so he probably would not want to be disturbed just yet, and it would be okay for them to stay like this, on the couch in front of the TV they weren’t really paying attention to for a few moments more. 

 

So instead, he turns back to the TV with a faint smile playing on his lips and settles for watching the cheesy Christmas ads.   
  
***  
  
Ray wakes at the sound of his phone ringing and sits up straight, startled. He glances around frantically and finds the clock first. Half-past two. He turns to Drew, blinking hard.   
  
“Why didn’t you wake me up?”  
  
Drew’s mouth falls open, and he shrugs a little, shaking his head. “I didn’t notice you fell asleep,” he lies and Ray sighs.   
  
“Where’s my phone?” he asks, and Drew pretends he’s looking for it too before he pulls out the phone from under a pillow. Ray’s ringtone was set so loud the cushion didn’t muffle the sound as he had hoped. 

  
Ray smiles as Drew hands him the phone and thanks him before turning away to answer the call.    
  
“Hello - Hi Diane!” Ray exclaims.   
  
Drew slumps back in his seat and crosses his arms, trying to keep the bitter expression off his face. This year, he’s the one who hasn’t got any plans for Christmas. Ralph is celebrating with his mother and her genius friends at their dusty garage, and it’s not like Drew has a lot of other relatives in the area.    
  
“Oh.... Oh no, that’s terrible…” Drew hears Ray continue on the call. “Yes, of course, I’ll be there as soon as I can. Okay, see you soon.”

 

Ray hangs up and turns back to Drew. “Guess you’re not going to be alone for Christmas.”  
  
Drew’s eyes dart up quickly before he catches himself and tries to keep his expression neutral.   
  
“Something wrong?” he asks, concerned.   
  
“Remember Diane? Diane Tuggle, my old friend, Danny’s, wife, who I was going to have Christmas with this year?”  
  
Drew nods.   
  
“Well her son broke his arm this morning. They’re at the hospital now.”  
  
The next second Ray is on his feet and ready to leave. He grabs his keys and he’s at the door when he turns around to face Drew.   
  
“I’m going to visit them there. I’ll be back in a few hours.”  
  
Drew tries to reply but he’s already out the door. Ray pauses for a moment then swings the door back open, quickly adding “I’ll cook dinner.”  
  
He gives him a wink as he shuts the door for good, leaving Drew smiling to himself.   
  
***  
  
Drew wasn’t going to put up a Christmas tree this year, since he was supposed to spend the night on his own. But now that Ray is coming home to celebrate with him… 

  
Drew knows Ray loves Christmas. It had showed last year when Drew had brought Ralph home to find his roommate wildly singing and dancing to Christmas songs, baking gingerbread. 

 

So if they’re going to be spending Christmas together this year, he wanted to put some effort into getting the place looking festive. 

 

First things first, he pulls out the box of decorations from last year, and strews the tinsel all over the room to brighten the place up a bit. Then, he goes to put up the tree, and is promptly reminded that they no longer have a Christmas tree, due to  the fire incident they agreed to not discuss. 

 

But Drew was never going to give up that easily, so he rushes out the door and to the closest mall he finds.  
  
***  
  
“What do you mean you don’t have any trees left ?” Drew asks, feeling panic rising in his chest.   
  
“Sir,” the seller says with a not-at-all soothing voice, “It’s a bit late, even for last-minute buyers. Someone bought the last one a couple hours ago. I’m sorry.”  
  
Drew clenches his fist and tries to calm down, running his other hand through his already messy hair. He bites his lip, and turns back to the seller, who’s already starting to walk away.  
  


“Wait!”

 

The seller turns back, lips pressed together in annoyance.

  
“Point me to whatever trees you have.”   
  
***  
  
When Ray parks the car, he’s exhausted, but also excited. After scrambling to make his way to the elevator, he takes it, and does his best to drag his founding through the front door of their apartment.   
  
Drew startles at the sound of the door flying open and Ray’s struggling. Soon enough, his roommate comes into sight, walking backwards and hauling -   
  
“Where did you find that tree?!”   
  
Ray drops the Christmas tree and turns to Drew, victorious. He stops grinning when he actually sees what Drew is doing.   
  
“Why are you putting Christmas decorations on a cactus?”  
  
Drew sighs wiping his forehead with the back of his hand. He’s wearing blue plastic gloves and trying to put tinsel around a giant cactus, but he’s doing a terrible job and has thorns all the way up his sleeves.   
  
“I went to the mall, but there were no Christmas trees left,” Drew says, fixing a decoration that was slipping down the cactus. “Some douchebag bought the last one. Where did you get yours?”  
  
Ray doesn’t answer right away. He stares right back at Drew and Drew frowns. After a moment of reflection, Drew’s eyebrows fly up, realizing Ray _was_ the douchebag who had bought the last tree.  
  
“Oh,” he exclaims, suddenly embarrassed. “Thank you.”  
  
“No problem pal,” Ray chuckles, and starts searching his pockets for his keys. “Okay, stay there. I need to go back to the car, there’s something I left in there.”  
  
And before Drew has the time to reply, Ray is out the door with a huge grin on his lips.  
  
Drew sighs and turns back to take a proper look at the progress he has made on his ‘tree’. He decides that he has spent too much time being pricked to just take all the decorations off now, so they will just have to have two trees. 

 

He’s kneeling down next to the new box that Ray bought to pry it open when the door bursts open. A bumbling ball of fur comes bounding towards Drew, and jumps on him to start licking his face before he has a chance to react.    
  
“What the hell is  _ that _ ?” he demands, recoiling from the dog.    
  
“I’m pretty sure it’s a dog.”    
  
“Yeah, I can see that,” Drew spits, putting the puppy down. “You bought a dog?!”   
  
Ray shrugs, trying to suppress an amused grin as he starts taking his tree out of its box. “I wouldn’t exactly say that.”

  
Drew stands up quickly. “Did you steal  _ another _ animal?” he exclaims. 

 

“That was  _ one _ time! And no, I didn’t steal this one, it was a gift.”

  
“We don’t need a dog, Ray, we can barely look after ourselves. Remember what happened to our Christmas tree?”

 

“We agreed not to discuss that. Besides, that’s what I told them too. I said, ‘Diane, I don’t need anymore company, I already have a Drew.’ But she insisted I take it. It was a gift, Drew. And besides, it likes you.”

 

Drew decides not to respond to the first part of that story, and instead says, “No, it doesn’t.”

 

“Yes it does, look at it.”

 

The puppy is sitting at Drew’s feet, excitedly wagging its tail. Drew considers it for a moment. 

  
“Do you really want me to take it back?” Ray teases and Drew tilts his head a the dog.   
  
Drew considers it for a moment. “Eh, I don’t know, I mean, I guess it does look kind of cute,” he admits. “Not that that matters, but like you said, it was a gift, and it would be rude to take it back.”

 

“That’s great, because I stopped by the mall again on the way home as well and bought a bunch of supplies so that we could keep it.”   
  


Drew chuckles and Ray asks for his help to get the tree out of the box and put it up next to the cactus.  
  
***  
  
Half an hour later, Drew has put all the decorations on both the cactus and the Christmas tree. He takes a step back to admire his work, then turns to the puppy.  
  
“Do you like it, puppy?” he asks, grinning like an idiot as Ray emerges from the kitchen and stops on the threshold of the living-room, raising his eyebrows at Drew.   
  
Drew can see that Ray is about to make a comment about him liking the dog, and quickly changes the subject. “Hey, we need a name for it.”

 

“Well, what do you want to call it?”

 

“I don’t know, something cool…”   
  
Drew starts naming famous baseball players that they could name it after, which Ray dismisses easily, much to Drew’s dismay. (“Why not, Ray?” “Because she’s a dog, Drew, not a baseball player.” “I’m sure she wouldn’t mind.” “We just can’t force that on her.”)

 

In defeat, Ray goes back to cooking, leaving Drew to keep coming up with more ideas. (“ _ No baseball players. _ ” “All right!”) It’s two minutes later that he comes running out with a bowl of half-mashed potatoes and shouts, “Speaker!”

 

“ _ Speaker _ ?” Drew gives him an incredulous look. “And you thought  _ my  _ ideas were shitty.”

 

“Yes,  _ Speaker _ ,” he says, looking pointedly at the dog, like he’s encouraging it to like its new name. “It’s a combination of our names. Baker and Spiewack. Smart, huh?”

 

“You can’t just combine our names to name our dog. Who does that?”

 

Ray shrugs. 

 

“Besides, why our last names? Why not… Rew?”

 

Ray raises his eyebrows judgmentally.  “ _ Rew? _ If you’re gonna go there, you should at least try. If we combined our first names it would obviously be Dray. That would be like trying to name her Biewack.”

 

“That’s not fair, why do you get most of the name?” 

 

“Because mine sounds better, of course. Besides, Speaker is mostly Baker, and she’s technically  _ my _ dog.” 

 

Drew likes the idea of Ray’s dog being named  _ mostly _ after him, so he lets the comment about Ray’s name sounding better slide. “I suppose it does kinda suit her, I mean, she hasn’t shut up since she got here.”

 

The dog barks excitedly in response, as if to prove his point. 

 

Satisfied, Ray goes to return to his cooking when he calls out, “Oh, I need you to finish mashing these potatoes for me. You have better upper body strength.” 

 

***

 

By the end of the night, all three of them (Speaker included) are full of delicious Christmas dinner and have settled down on the couch, watching some more Christmas movies and munching on the occasional gingerbread. Despite Drew’s determination to not immediately like the dog, Ray finds Speaker curled up on Drew’s chest 10 minutes into the movie. 

 

Ray gives Drew a knowing smile and Drew adamantly looks back to the TV, pretending not to notice as he pets the puppy. 

 

It’s then that Ray notices an unopened box of decorations sitting off to the side of the room. “Hey, what’s wrong with that box over there? Why haven’t you used those decorations on the trees?” 

 

Drew turns his head to look where Ray is pointing. “Ah yes. Those are the fairy lights, from last year. I thought it might be risky to take them out.”

 

“Why would - Oh, yeah!” Ray exclaims. “Man, that was really annoying to get out of, I can’t believe you got us so tangled up.”

 

“Hey! That was entirely your fault. I was trying to get you out of that knot.”

 

“I had it under control. If you hadn’t stepped in and tried to be the hero, I would have been fine!”

 

Drew laughs lightly, enjoying their banter. He looks down at the puppy on his chest, who has now perked up from listening to their dumb arguments. “Look at that, you woke the dog,” he jokes.    
  
“Hey, Speaker! Come here, puppy, come on!” 

 

“What - hey, no! Speaker, come back!” Drew calls desperately as Speaker climbs off his chest and bounds over to Ray.     
  
Ray smirks as Drew glares dramatically at him. He picks up the puppy. “Here, keep her for a little while, I have to go grab something.”

 

Ray passes him Speaker and walks off to his room. When he returns, he has a badly wrapped Christmas present in his hands. Drew eyes it suspiciously. 

 

“I got you a Christmas present!” He drops it onto Drew’s lap, and Speaker, who had been waiting anxiously in the seat next to him, jumps up, tail wagging, and begins to sniff it. “Open it!” Ray says excitedly. 

 

Cautiously, Drew tugs at the wrapping paper to tear it open. He holds up the piece of fabric that he finds inside. 

 

“‘ _ I’m a Drewnicorn’ _ ?” 

 

Ray nods enthusiastically. “It matches my  _ Rayndeer _ one! It’s not as Christmas themed, but it was kind of hard to come up with puns for your name.”

 

Drew looks at his friend, eyebrows raised, then laughs. “Thanks, Ray.” 

 

Ray beams. “It was my pleasure.”

 

Drew smiles back, and nods a little, remembering he actually had something for Ray too. So he puts Speaker on Ray’s lap and goes to his room, telling his roommate to stay there.   
  
When he comes back, not only Drew has his new shirt on, he also has a baseball cap on his head. He goes to sit back on the couch, grinning proudly. Ray looks up at him, confused.   
  
“What?”   
  
“Merry Christmas.”   
  
Ray frowns. “Merry Christmas to you too but why are you staring at me like an idiot?”   
  
Drew’s smile fades and his shoulders drop. “Are you kidding?” He gestures to himself. “Your present.”   
  
It takes another moment for Ray to finally notice the cap. It’s got his name on it. His face lights up and Drew looks relieved that the awkward silence is over.    
  


Ray grabs him by the shoulders excitedly. “Oh my God, are you serious?!”   
  
Ray takes the cap off Drew’s head and places it on his. “Thanks, pal,” he says, and cups Drew’s face with his hands and kisses his forehead, right before he jumps up.   
  
“I’m gonna get more gingerbread.”   
  
Drew’s still sitting here motionless when he hears Ray’s voice, horrified because Speaker is peeing on their living-room floor. 


End file.
